CAPABILITY SUMMIT 2027
Respond Well. Lead Well. Recover Well.
Building Human Capability for Everyday Challenges and Critical Moments
Real stories. Practical insights. Better outcomes when it matters.
Wednesday 24th March 2027
Claudelands Conference & Exhibition Centre
Half-Day Summit + Networking
Early Bird Registration Now Available
Because Capability Changes Outcomes
Every organisation has moments that test its people.
An aggressive customer. A difficult conversation. An escalating situation. An unexpected event. A decision that needs to be made with incomplete information.
Most organisations have policies and procedures.
But when something actually happens, outcomes often come down to people.
Can they recognise what is changing?
Can they make good decisions under pressure?
Can somebody step forward and lead?
And when the moment has passed, can the people involved recover well?
Capability Summit 2027 brings these questions to life through real stories, practical insights and conversations with people who have experienced pressure, uncertainty, leadership and recovery first-hand.
One afternoon. Different perspectives. Amazing keynote speakers.One central idea
Capable people change outcomes.
Respond Well. Lead Well. Recover Well.
Every difficult situation, every critical moment has a before, a during and an after. How people respond, how leaders lead and how teams recover can ultimately shape the outcome.
These three themes provide the foundation for Capability Summit 2027, bringing together real stories, practical experience and different perspectives to explore the human capabilities that matter when situations become challenging, uncertain or high-pressure.
From recognising what is developing and making good decisions to leading under pressure and supporting people afterwards, Respond Well. Lead Well. Recover Well. creates the thread that connects the conversations, speakers and stories across the Summit.
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RESPOND WELL
The ability to recognise what is developing, make sense of changing circumstances and respond with confidence.
Explore practical approaches to:
Situational awareness
Communication and de-escalation
Define the line around abuse,aggression, and inappropriate language
Dynamic risk assessment
Shared decision-making
Coordinated team response
Good outcomes start with people who recognise what is happening and have practised how to respond.
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LEAD WELL
The ability to provide clarity, direction and support when situations become uncertain or complex.
Explore how leaders and workplace responders can:
Build a clear picture of what is happening
Make decisions with incomplete information
Establish priorities
Communicate with confidence
Coordinate people and resources
Adapt as circumstances change
When pressure rises, clear leadership gives people confidence, direction and purpose.
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RECOVER WELL
The ability to support people, strengthen resilience and sustain performance over time.
Explore how organisations can:
Build personal and team resilience
Foster supportive workplace cultures
Strengthen confidence following difficult events
Encourage healthy recovery practices
Learn from experience
Maintain capability for the future
What happens afterwards matters. Strong recovery helps people learn, reset and move forward.
Is this Summit For You?
If your people are expected to respond, lead or support others when situations become challenging, this Summit is for you
Every organisation has moments that test its people. A difficult customer interaction. Escalating behaviour. A wellbeing concern. An unexpected incident. A situation where someone needs to step forward, make sense of what is happening and help others through it.
Capability Summit 2027 is for organisations that want their people to be better prepared for those moments, not simply through plans and procedures, but by building the confidence, judgement and human capability to respond well, lead well and recover well.
The summit will be particularly relevant for:
Team leaders and supervisors
Operations and workplace leaders
Health and safety professionals
Contact centre and customer service leaders
People and Culture professionals
Risk, security and emergency management practitioners
First aiders and fire wardens
Reception and frontline teams
People responsible for customer-facing environments
Anyone expected to provide direction during difficult or uncertain situations
Bring together the people in your organisation who respond, lead and support others. Give them the opportunity to hear real stories, challenge their thinking and take practical ideas back into the workplace.
What You Will Gain
Capability Summit 2027 is designed to provide ideas that can be taken back into the workplace and applied.
You will leave with:
Practical ideas for strengthening people and team capability
New perspectives on leadership under pressure
A better understanding of situational awareness and coordinated response
Approaches for supporting resilience and recovery
Connections with people facing similar organisational challenges
A clearer view of how Good Drills, Good Leadership and Good Space could support your organisation in 2027
Real Stories. Practical Insights. Valuable Connections.
Hear from experienced practitioners, organisational leaders and guest speakers bringing practical insights from frontline environments, leadership roles and challenging situations.
The summit will combine:
Practical presentations
Real-world stories
Leadership insights
Capability-building frameworks
Cross-industry perspectives
Opportunities for discussion and networking
Speaker announcements and the final summit programme will be released soon.
Summit MC
WILHELMINA O’KEEFFE
Storyteller | Facilitator | Broadcaster
"Guiding the conversations that help organisations respond well, lead well and recover well."
Wilhelmina O’Keeffe is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, event MC and communications specialist with more than 17 years of experience across television, radio and media in New Zealand and Australia.
A familiar face and voice to Kiwi audiences, Wilhelmina has held prominent roles at TVNZ, Newshub and Today FM, including presenting Newshub Late and co-hosting Today FM’s Drive show. Throughout her career, she has reported on some of the biggest national and international news events, earning multiple New Zealand Radio Awards for her journalism and investigative storytelling.
Today, Wilhelmina combines her broadcasting experience with running her own media and communications consultancy, Wils & Co. Media, while continuing to work as a presenter and sought-after event MC.
Summit Hosts
Greypoint Consulting and Group Q NZ Limited have come together to create Capability Summit 2027, bringing different expertise, experience and perspectives together around one shared purpose: building capability for the moments that matter.Through practical insights, lived experience and real-world lessons, our speakers will explore how individuals, teams and organisations can respond effectively, lead confidently and recover well when faced with everyday challenges and critical moments.
Hosted By
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Paul Walsh
Director Group Q NZ
A recognised leader in situational awareness, de-escalation and human behaviour risk, Paul Walsh has worked with organisations across New Zealand to help people build confidence, capability and practical responses to challenging situations.
Respond Well.
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Wade Harrison
Director | Greypoint Consulting
Drawing on extensive experience in leadership, emergency management and organisational preparedness, Wade Harrison will explore the practical leadership capabilities required when situations become uncertain, complex or fast-moving.
Lead Well.
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Jayne Lapin
Partner Group Q | Author | Coach
An experienced practitioner in wellbeing, resilience and recovery, Jayne Lapin will share practical approaches for helping individuals and teams remain strong, connected and effective during and after difficult experiences.
Recover Well.
Featured Speakers
Extraordinary Stories. International Perspectives. Lessons That Matter.
Capability Summit 2027 brings together four outstanding featured speakers with extraordinary stories shaped by real-world experience, high-pressure environments and moments where decisions, leadership and human capability truly matter.
From international perspectives to remarkable personal experiences, each speaker brings a different lens on what it takes to respond when circumstances change, lead when the way forward is uncertain, and recover when the immediate moment has passed.
These are more than great stories. They are stories with lessons we can take back into our own workplaces, teams and lives.
Additional cameo speakers will be dropping in from NZ and around the world
Programme and speakers are subject to change. While we’ll always aim to deliver the advertised programme, speaker availability can occasionally change due to circumstances outside our control.
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Alyssa Vandegeer
Friend of Sharks - A powerful story of resilience, courage and facing fear. From tough beginnings to refugee camps in Jordan and swimming with sharks, Alyssa brings resilience to life.
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Capt Mike Tomoana
Air New Zealand - Powerful insights into situational awareness and preparing for those 1% critical moments. In aviation, readiness for the unlikely is what makes the everyday safer.
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Ken Franks
Founder - CogCon - Cognitive Performance. Stress doesn’t have to wreck performance. Learn what happens to your brain & body under pressure, and how ordinary people train themselves to perform when it counts.
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Joe Tac
We are looking to secure a speaker from the tactical world of operations - we have a couple of options - either way, their story is real, relatable and powerful - you should come just for this opportunity to hear from them - life skill lessons
Why You'll Want To Be In The Room
At Capability Summit 2027 you'll hear:
Real stories from people who have faced uncertainty and pressure
Practical lessons in leadership, resilience and human behaviour
Insights you can apply immediately within your organisation
Perspectives from industries facing similar challenges
Conversations that challenge thinking and inspire action
More Than A Conference
Real stories. Real experience. Lessons that stay with you.
Capability Summit 2027 brings together storytellers, practitioners and leaders who have experienced pressure, uncertainty and challenge first-hand.
Through their stories, we’ll explore what it really means to Respond Well, Lead Well and Recover Well, connecting extraordinary experiences with practical lessons that can strengthen everyday capability across your organisation.
Come for the stories. Leave with ideas, insights and conversations that can change how your people respond when it matters most.
Respond Well. Lead Well. Recover Well.
Event Details
Wednesday 24 March 2027
Venue: Claudelands Conference & Exhibition Centre
Format: Half-Day Summit + Networking
Audience: Leaders, frontline professionals and workplace practitioners
Standard Registration: $495 + GST per person
Registration Options
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Early Bird Individual
$395 + GST
A saving of $100 per person.
Available for a limited time.
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Standard Individual
$495 + GST
One registration for Capability Summit 2027.
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Early Bird Table of Four
$1,400 + GST
Equivalent to $350 per person.
Designed for organisations wanting to bring a mix of leaders, responders and workplace practitioners.
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Standard Table of Four
$1,600 + GST
Equivalent to $400 per person.
A saving of $380 compared with four standard individual registrations.
Why Bring a Team?
Capability is rarely built by one person working alone.
A table of four allows your organisation to bring together people with different responsibilities and perspectives, such as:
A team or operational leader
A health and safety representative
A first aider, fire warden or workplace responder
A frontline, reception or People and Culture representative
Attending together creates a shared language and a stronger foundation for continuing the conversation inside your organisation.
Register Now
Complete the registration form below to secure your individual place or table of four.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A. The Capability Summit is for people responsible for how their organisation prepares, responds, leads and recovers when things don’t go to plan.
That includes leaders and professionals working across operations, health and safety, People and Culture, customer service, security, risk, resilience, emergency management and frontline capability.
If part of your role is helping people or organisations perform well when it matters, this Summit is for you.
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A. Absolutely. In fact, that’s part of the point.
Most organisations already have plans, procedures and policies. The real challenge is what happens when people need to put them into practice under pressure.
The Capability Summit focuses on the human capability behind the plan: how people respond, make decisions, communicate, lead and recover when faced with uncertainty, pressure or a critical moment.
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A. Your registration gives you access to the full Capability Summit 2027 experience, including the speaker programme, practical insights and discussions, opportunities to connect with speakers and other attendees, and Summit resources.
Refreshments and catering will also be provided throughout the day, with more details confirmed closer to the Summit.
Our aim is simple: a valuable day that gives you ideas, insights and connections you can take back into your organisation.
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A. Yes, and we encourage it.
You can register individually or take advantage of our four-person team option. Bringing people from different roles or functions can be particularly valuable because they experience the same conversations and can continue them together back in the workplace.
Shared experience creates a stronger platform for change.
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A. No problem.
You can secure your four places now and confirm the remaining attendee details closer to the Summit.
We’d rather you secure your places early than wait until every name is confirmed.
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A. Yes.
Simply select Invoice Me when registering and provide the relevant organisation and billing information. If your organisation requires a purchase order or other procurement information, this can also be arranged.
Our goal is to make the registration process as straightforward as possible. Creidt card can be used to pay the invoice.
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A. Yes. Catering and light refreshments will be provided as part of your Summit registration. We will provide updates on after-Summit catering and options in due course.
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We understand that plans can change. If you are no longer able to attend the Capability Summit, the following cancellation policy applies:
More than 30 days before the Summit: Full refund, less a 10% administration fee.
14 to 30 days before the Summit: 50% refund.
Less than 14 days before the Summit: No refund.
Unable to attend? You are welcome to transfer your registration to another person within your organisation at no additional cost. Just let us know before the event.
If we cancel the Capability Summit: We will provide a full refund of the registration fee paid.
All cancellation or transfer requests need to be made in writing.
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A. Absolutely. Connection is an important part of the Summit.
We’re deliberately creating opportunities throughout the programme for conversations with people from different organisations, sectors and backgrounds.
Some of the most valuable insights may come from the stage. Others may come from the person sitting beside you. Please note some of our speakers will be dialing in and some may have travel commitments - A 1:1 with your desired speaker may not be possible - The summit hosts will all be available.
Secure Your Place
CAPABILITY SUMMIT 2027
When situations become challenging, people look to other people.
They look to the colleague who notices what is changing. The person who speaks up. The leader who creates direction. The team that responds together. The organisation that supports its people afterwards.
Capability can be built.
Respond Well. Lead Well. Recover Well.
Building Human Capability for Everyday Challenges and Critical Moments
Wednesday 24th March 2027
Claudelands Conference & Exhibition Centre - Hamilton
Half-Day Summit + Networking
Register individually or bring a team of four.
Early Bird Registration Available for a Limited Time
Capability Summit 2027
Registration Terms & Conditions
By registering for Capability Summit 2027, you agree to the following terms and conditions.
1. Registration and payment
Your place at the Summit is confirmed once you complete your registration and Group Q NZ accepts payment or an agreed invoicing arrangement.
All prices are in New Zealand dollars and exclude GST unless stated otherwise.
2. If you need to cancel
We understand that plans change.
Cancel more than 30 days before the Summit and we'll provide a full refund, less any non-refundable transaction or booking fees.
Cancel 15 to 30 days before the Summit and we'll refund 50% of your registration fee.
Cancel within 14 days of the Summit and your registration is non-refundable.
You are welcome to transfer your registration to someone else from your organisation at no additional cost. Just let us know as soon as reasonably possible.
These cancellation terms do not affect any rights you may have under New Zealand law.
3. If we need to cancel or postpone the Summit
Sometimes circumstances outside our control can affect an event.
If Group Q NZ cancels Capability Summit 2027, registered attendees will be offered a refund of their registration fee in accordance with applicable New Zealand law.
If we need to postpone or reschedule the Summit, your registration will normally be transferred to the new date. We'll contact registered attendees directly with the available options.
Group Q NZ is not responsible for travel, accommodation or other costs associated with attending the Summit, except where required by law.
4. Speakers and programme changes
We're bringing together an exciting line-up of speakers and contributors, but sometimes circumstances change.
Speaker availability can be affected by illness, operational commitments or other unforeseen circumstances. Group Q NZ may therefore need to substitute a speaker, change a presentation or adjust the programme or session timings.
If this happens, we'll do our best to maintain the quality, purpose and overall themes of the Summit.
A change to an individual speaker, presentation or session will not be treated as a cancellation of the Summit or automatically result in a refund. This does not affect any rights you may have under New Zealand law.
5. Changes to the event
Group Q NZ may make reasonable changes to the venue, timing, programme or format of the Summit if circumstances require it.
If there is a significant change that affects registered attendees, we'll let you know as soon as reasonably possible.
6. Photography and filming
General photography of the event facilitation may take place during the Summit and may be used by Group Q NZ for event, educational and promotional purposes.
If you don't want to appear in photography or video, please let us know when you register or speak with the event team on the day.
7. Respectful and safe environment
We want the Capability Summit to be a positive, professional and respectful experience for everyone.
We ask attendees to treat speakers, other participants, venue staff and the Group Q team with respect. We reserve the right to ask someone to leave if their behaviour is unsafe, inappropriate or seriously disruptive.
8. Your information
We'll use the information you provide to manage your registration and communicate with you about the Summit.
If you separately choose to receive news or future event updates from Group Q NZ, we may also contact you for those purposes.
This approach is appropriate because the Office of the Privacy Commissioner says organisations collecting personal information should explain why they need it and how they will use it, and generally use it for the purpose for which it was collected. [privacy.org.nz], [privacy.org.nz]
9. Your belongings and arrangements
You're responsible for your own personal belongings and for making your own travel and accommodation arrangements.
Nothing in these terms limits any rights or remedies you may have under New Zealand law